A parable with a resolution stick.
The snake, the bird and the stick in the May 17th Journal Star offers a modern day parable about what we can do when there seems to be no way out. Author Tim Mitchinson goes on to relate a resolution to a bullying problem in school when he was able to break the spell of fear. With the focus of education in Kansas more on the Kansas Legislature, the Kansas Courts and District funding than on curriculum, perhaps representatives, justices, school officials and citizens might apply the story in additional ways. Below you will find the beginning of the story. The way Tim Mitchinson applied the parable’s lessons to find resolution can be found by clicking to read the entire article.
Years ago I read a story about a man who was out on a walk and noticed a bird standing still, transfixed. The bird was staring at a snake that was coming closer and getting ready to strike. Just then, the man threw a stick between the two. The snake recoiled, and the bird flew off. Through the years, that story has continued to hold a lesson for me.
We all may have challenges in life – times of sickness, lack, loneliness, unhappiness. Have you ever felt like that bird, unable to move, paralyzed by fear? I have. But I have been saved by a stick thrown in my path. What is that stick that has broken the spell of fear?